Olentangy Berlin's student section is shaping how Bears athletes experience fall sports, and senior volleyball star Addie Knapke says the packed stands make a difference.

"The noise makes every point feel bigger and gets the team fired up," Knapke told reporter Brynlee Moss of 3140 News, Berlin's student newspaper, in a feature published Monday, Sept. 14.

Knapke, a libero, was ranked No. 14 in Ohio on the USA TODAY Network preseason top-25 list after recording 366 digs and a program-record 69 aces last season. She earned first-team all-OCC-Cardinal and second-team all-district honors in Division I and is committed to Northwestern.

Knapke said the cheering students and parents who fill the gym at volleyball matches boost her confidence and keep her focused. The Bears opened the fall with a 7-1 record through Sept. 12, returning nine players from a squad that reached a regional semifinal in 2025 and the program's first state semifinal in 2024, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Not every Berlin sport draws the same crowd. JV field hockey player Ava Gombola, a sophomore, said she wishes her team had a bigger cheering section. In her two years playing, Gombola said, games with more fans gave the team noticeably more energy and made the competition feel more important. A larger crowd, she told 3140 News, would push her teammates to play harder.

Sophomore Presley Matejovich, a Berlin student who regularly attends games, said she loves watching classmates compete and called the student sections "so much fun." For Matejovich, the energy flows both ways: fans feed off the athletes as much as athletes feed off the fans.

Berlin's volleyball team carried its 7-1 record into the week. The next confirmed match had not been posted to the school's public athletics calendar as of Sept. 15.